31-year-old with terminal cancer holds art show as his 'living funeral'

As a graphic designer, Mr Pow Jun Yang's lifelong dream was to stage his own art exhibition.

- Theresa Tan

This became an item on his bucket list, when the 31-year-old bachelor was told recently by doctors that he has about three months left to live.

Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in early 2023, he has since exhausted all treatment options, including several cycles of chemotherapy.

He has stage 4 urachal cancer, which arises in the urachus or its remnants. The urachus connects the umbilical cord to the bladder in a foetus, and usually closes before birth.

While shocked, Mr Pow initially thought he could overcome the cancer, given his young age.

But all the cycles of chemotherapy and operations he underwent to tackle the cancer failed to bring good news.

Around May 2024, his doctors told him that he probably had a lifespan of around six months left.

He has since outlived those six months. "I just tell myself to take each day at a time," he said.

Around November, his doctors gave him a three-month prognosis.

That spurred him into action - to try to turn his dream of holding an art exhibition into reality.

His sister contacted Ambulance Wish Singapore (AWS), a charity that grants the wishes of terminally ill patients with less than a year's prognosis.

In less than a month, the charity, with the help of its partners and sponsors, organised a solo exhibition for him.

Titled Canvas Of Memories - Jun Yang Pow, the event is being held at Suntec City from Jan 3 to 5.